Ahmednagar: NCP chief Sharad Pawar was on Friday enraged after a journalist questioned him over reports his relative, former Maharashtra minister Padmasinh Patil, was quitting the party and joining the ruling BJP.
Upset over the use of “relative” in the desertion of NCP leaders, Pawar also asked the scribe to apologise and leave the media briefing.
At a Press conference held at Shrirampur, Pawar faced questions about a slew of NCP leaders defecting to BJP or Shiv Sena of late, contending they were switching loyalties for “development”.
Responding to one such question, the NCP patriarch said, “For the 10-15 years their development took place in this party (NCP) only. They perhaps now want more development and the BJP and Shiv Sena may have shown them some path to attain it.” “I, however, don’t have information about what kind of development that is.”
A journalist said “not only leaders but also relatives” were leaving his 20-year-old party and named Patil, NCP leader from Osmanabad. Patil’s sister is married to Pawar’s nephew Ajit.
The use of the term “relative” visibly upset Pawar and the reporter’s insistence on going ahead with the query despite being rebuked by the former Union minister made him lose his cool.
“Where is the question of a relative here? What you are saying is wrong. Where is the question of relatives in politics?” Pawar asked the reporter.
